'Unbelievable scene' as plane crashes into Florida home, killing flight instructor

Image: A plane crashed into a home in Winter Haven, Florida, on Feb. 23, 20
A plane crashed into a home in Winter Haven, Florida, on Feb. 23, 2019. Copyright @hollywoodhollyc and @helihubby via Twitter
By Farnoush Amiri with NBC News U.S. News
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"One guy is dead and one lady is stuck in the wall," a man said in a 911 call.

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A newly-released recording of a 911 call reporting a plane's crashing into a home in Florida gives a sense of what a sheriff said was an "unbelievable scene."

A flight instructor, James Wagner, 64, was killed in the crash on Saturday, in Winter Haven, Florida.

A trainee pilot on board walked away with minor injuries and a teenage girl who lives at the home and who got pinned to the wall by the crash was in stable condition Monday at a local hospital.

Five other family members in and outside the home were uninjured, according to police.

"She's stuck in the wall," an unidentified man is heard saying to the emergency dispatcher on Saturday. "One guy is dead, and one lady is stuck in the wall."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said authorities arrived to find Carmelle Ngalamulume, 17, pinned to a wall after the plane crashed into her family's home shortly after taking off from the nearby airport before 1 p.m. ET.

The instructor, Wagner, had taken Timothy Sheehy, 33, a student pilot, on a flight to practice a simulated engine failure, when their plane lost power and crashed into a residence, the sheriff's office said.

Wagner died at the scene and Sheehy had only minor injuries, according to police.

Ngalamulume was transferred to a local hospital where she remained in stable condition as of early Monday, police said.

"As tragic as this was for Mr. Wagner and his family, this could have been much, much worse," Judd said in a statement.

"As tragic as this was for Mr. Wagner and his family, this could have been much, much worse. This crash is an unbelievable scene," the sheriff said.

At the time of the crash, three residents of the home, including the 17-year-old, were inside, and three children, ages 2, 11 and 15 years old, playing in the front yard.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced is own investigation into the crash on Saturday, while the National Transportation Safety Board said it will work to determine a probable cause.

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